Looking To Grow Your Nest Egg?

Preparing for retirement

In 2007 Carol Pendrick from northern Sydney was starting
to think seriously about the future. Like many people
approaching retirement, Carol wanted advice on when she
could afford to finish working and how much money she’d
need to retire comfortably.
Carol had previously met Shane Foster from Lifestyle
Financial Services through her employer’s super fund.
Since Carol knew she wanted to boost her super as much
as possible while she was still working, she decided to get
in touch with Shane to see what her options were.
After looking into her financial situation, Shane
recommended a transition-to-retirement strategy for Carol.
This involved starting a salary sacrifice arrangement with
her employer that allowed Carol to take advantage of the
concessional cap for super contributions, while reducing
her tax liability at the same time.
Shane also recommended that Carol set up a termallocated pension. With this in place, she’d be able to draw
funds from her super while she was still working. This
meant she could cover the shortfall in her pay while she
was salary sacrificing into super.
“Shane suggested that the transition-to-retirement pension
option was one of the best things I could do financially at
that time,” said Carol. “It’s certainly made a huge difference
in terms of being able to save tax and build up my finances
for my retirement.”

Carol Pendrick with her granddaughters Charlotte (left) and Georgia

A secure financial future

With a sound retirement strategy in place, Carol was able
to make the most of her income to secure her financial
future. On Shane’s advice, Carol also negotiated with her
employer to pay her long-service leave out over a sixmonth period before she retired, so she could maximise
her employer’s contributions to her super as well.
Throughout her financial advice journey, Carol has
appreciated how Shane has taken the time to explain
everything clearly so she can be confident that she’s
making the right decisions.
“Shane is very open and friendly, and he’s always been
very easy to deal with,” Carol said. “I always feel that I can
ask him any kind of question – if he doesn’t have the
answer right away, he’ll find it out and let me know.”
Now that her financial future is secure, Carol is looking
forward to her retirement years. She also knows she’ll be
able to help out her children and grandchildren if they ever
need her financial assistance.
Next, Carol plans to consult Shane on her eligibility to
receive a part age pension. And no matter what other
financial advice she may need in the future, she knows that
Shane will always be looking after her best interests.
Carol commented: “Shane has always encouraged me to
think about the future and what I need to do to make things
better for me financially when I retire. Having him as my
financial adviser has been a very good experience.”